Sunday, July 11, 2004

Welcome ...to Network Against Prohibition from Northern Territory, Australia. It's an interesting organization, with one of the more unusual website front pages I've seen. In addition to a demonic pot-smoking Santa Claus, they have this delightfully absurd smiling marijuana leaf, who appears to be strolling down the highway at night, lit by the headlights of a car on the wrong side of the road (Oh, that's right, it's Australia) and a helicopter spotlight. It's strangely seductive (I'm guessing you could watch it for hours if you're stoned). I checked out their news, and noticed that they had a smoke-in to protest a new U.S. base in the Northern Territory. They seem quite aware of the irony of the situation that they are protesting the opening of the base because they oppose the outrageous war on drugs that has been imposed on the world by the U.S., but also note that the base's presence is likely to improve the quality and quantity of drugs in the area. I'd also like to welcome visitors from the Catallarchy.net group blog, as well as the delightfully named MediaCrapola blog. Both are worth visiting. 11:15:07 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []

Interesting times in Alabama Thanks to Loretta Nall of the U.S. Marijuana Party and Pot-TV who sent some interesting news from Alabama. The Mobile Register reports that the folks there are pretty conflicted about marijuana, yet overwhelmingly support medical use. More than three-quarters of Alabamians think doctors should be allowed to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes, though an even larger percentage oppose outright legalization of the drug, the results of a new Mobile Register-University of South Alabama poll suggest. In last week's statewide survey of 417 people, the majority also expressed indifference about political candidates' stances on medical marijuana, and more than 70 percent said it would not influence their vote if a candidate admitted using marijuana when he or she was young. It's a pretty good article, with a nice run-down of the issues. This was followed up on Friday, with a Huntsville Times editorial by David Person (who also quoted Loretta), who summed up with: But I am intrigued with the idea that in a state that has churches on every corner, many of us apparently realize that marijuana, like various narcotics and even alcohol (which is used liberally in some cold medicines, for example) may occasionally serve a good purpose. Nine other states, including Arizona and Colorado, have already figured this out. Now don't you old reefer-heads among us go pulling out your bongs and copies of Dr. Dre's top-selling old-school rap CD "The Chronic." I'm not saying it's time to party. But maybe - to paraphrase the Apostle Paul - a little weed for the body's sake under the right circumstances and for the right purpose is OK. Also getting some good press in all of this is Senate candidate Wayne Sowell, who not only supports medical marijuana and industrial hemp. He's also pushing for the repeal of the Marijuana Tax Act and approaches marijuana legalization with a religious zeal. He may seem a little extreme for Alabama, but why not? It certainly makes for a good debate, especially considering that his opponent, Senator Richard Shelby, is a hypocrite who pushes for strict drug penalties... except when it's his own son. ( Scroll down to "Apply Laws Equally") 10:31:45 PM |  drug policy | Links | permalink | comment []